803: Chapter 803 Human Zongzi, Ice Orchid?

Currently, Ye Chen held a total of nine keys in his hands!

That is to say...

Whether or not the bronze gate of the Kunlun Ruins would be opened was entirely up to him.

Others?

They all had to wait on his mood.

Yan Qingwu finally snapped out of her shock, completely stunned.

"It's not like… others have to risk their lives just to find one, and still come up empty-handed…"

"And you, you've gathered all nine? Did you step in dog shit luck when you went out, or are you cheating?"

"Luck is a form of strength, too." Ye Chen casually stuffed the keys into his pocket. "But you're right, with all nine collected, the 'key rewards' that those people at the Antarctic Martial Arts competition are putting up must definitely be fake."

Yan Qingwu raised an eyebrow: "If those old foxes from the One Clan, Three Sects, Five Gates really had keys in their hands, how could they bear to bring them out as prizes? It's obviously a trap set to lure you in."

Ye Chen grinned, a hint of playfulness flashing in his eyes.

"A scam is fine."

"Since they want to play, I'll play along with them properly."

"It just so happens…"

"I have all nine keys in my hands. I'd like to see how spectacular their expressions will be when they present the fake keys, only to discover that I have the real ones."

"Be careful not to flip your car." Yan Qingwu shot him an annoyed look. "Those old foxes aren't pushovers. Since they dared to use fake keys as bait, they must have rigged the martial arts competition, and who knows what kind of backup plans they have waiting for you."

"Flip my car?" Ye Chen tilted his head, his smile unchanged. "I'm the type of person who isn't afraid of others digging pits for me. If they want me to flip my car, I'll make them flip over completely first. When we're on the Antarctic ice sheet, it's not certain yet who will be crying and who will be laughing."

Yan Qingwu curled her lip.

Fine!

She had never won an argument with this guy, Ye Chen!

After all.

This guy wasn't just a king of trash talk; he was the King of Kings!

She couldn't beat him…

Old Liu stood behind them, his legs still trembling, his face pale as he listened to the two of them going back and forth, feeling like he was in a dream.

Nine keys, the Antarctic Martial Arts competition, the One Clan, Three Sects, Five Gates…

He understood every single word, but when put together, he had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

But there was one thing he was certain of.

The young man in front of him was definitely no ordinary person.

Old Liu stammered: "Um… Mr. Ye, can we leave now? I don't want to stay in this place for even another second…"

Ye Chen nodded.

"Alright, let's pull out."

Having said that, he turned and started walking back the way they came. He had only taken two steps when he suddenly stopped.

The next second.

He turned his head and looked back at the river of blood.

The mutant spider's corpse was submerged under the water, and the blood was still rippling, but beneath that turbulent surface, a strange fluctuation directly caught Ye Chen's attention.

Because.

The frequency was exactly the same as the frequency of the surging blood…

To him, this minute strangeness was quite eye-catching.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What's wrong?" Seeing him stop, Yan Qingwu became vigilant as well.

Ye Chen didn't speak, just stared at the center of the blood river for a few seconds.

Immediately after.

He pressed his right hand toward the blood river in a void motion.

"BOOM!!!"

In an instant, boundless True Qi poured out from his palm, turning into a tangible wave of energy that slammed onto the surface of the blood river.

The entire blood river was forcibly split apart, the blood surging and rolling back to both sides, revealing the rock face at the bottom of the riverbed.

The moment the blood receded, all three of them saw clearly what was in the center of the riverbed.

It was a huge humanoid "Zongzi".

About the height of a person, its surface wrapped in layers of talisman paper.

The talismans were layered on top of each other, the patterns of yellow paper and cinnabar densely intertwined.

The most bizarre thing was…

A faint, dark red light seeped from the surface of the Zongzi, appearing and disappearing in the gaps between the talismans.

Ye Chen frowned.

The aura of this thing was very wrong, carrying an indescribable chill, completely different from the aura of the spider remains in the blood river. It was more like something buried deep underground for who knows how many years, which was now leaking out bit by bit after being unsealed.

"What is this thing?"

Yan Qingwu's expression tightened.

She felt an indescribable sense of oppression from that humanoid Zongzi, to the point where she almost couldn't breathe…

Old Liu hadn't seen clearly what it was at first.

But once the blood had completely receded and the Zongzi was fully exposed to view, his legs suddenly went soft, and he dropped to his knees.

Ye Chen and Yan Qingwu were stunned and looked over together.

Only to see.

Old Liu's face was as pale as paper: "Human… Human Zongzi! This is a Human Zongzi! Don't touch it! Absolutely do not touch it!!!"

Ye Chen turned his head to look at Old Liu.

"You know about this thing?"

Old Liu's eyes couldn't hide his fear.

"Among the old people in our area, there has always been a saying…"

"That a 'Human Zongzi' is buried deep in the Greater Khingan Mountains, said to be a tomb guardian from some ancient tomb. Whoever touches it dies!"

"That's something raised underground. You have to walk around it if you see it. If you touch it, you'll suffer retribution!"

"Mr. Ye, I beg you, let's go. That thing really can't be touched!"

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and didn't listen to Old Liu. Instead, he walked toward the riverbed again.

He always felt…

That behind this big Zongzi lay an even bigger secret.

"Ye Chen!"

Yan Qingwu hurriedly called out: "Are you crazy? Uncle Liu said that's a taboo!"

"Taboos are things meant to be broken."

Ye Chen didn't look back and walked onto the riverbed rock face. "If we listened to old people for everything, humans would still be living in caves."

Yan Qingwu bit her lip in anger, but still followed him.

Old Liu was kneeling on the ground, but he didn't dare stay there alone.

So much so that.

Gritting his teeth, he crawled after them…

Ye Chen walked up to the Zongzi and carefully examined the talisman paper on it.

The patterns on the talismans were very ancient, simpler and more primitive than most of the runes he had seen before.

The lines were bold and powerful, as if drawn with some kind of animal blood mixed with cinnabar.

The talisman papers were layered, at least seven or eight layers thick, and the gaps between each layer were tight and seamless, with no loosening at all.

He stretched out his hand, his fingertips hovering an inch above the surface of the talisman paper, without making direct contact.

A faint, extremely weak heartbeat was transmitted from deep within the Zongzi, traveling through the air to his fingertips.

"It's alive." Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

Hearing this, Yan Qingwu felt a chill down her spine: "Alive? You mean… there's something inside?"

Ye Chen didn't answer. Instead, he pressed his finger slightly, and a wisp of golden True Qi seeped into the gaps between the talismans along his finger.

The talisman paper suddenly lit up with a dark yellow halo, like ignited phosphorus fire, and the surface of the entire Zongzi began to tremble violently.

The cinnabar patterns on those talismans lit up one after another, the dark yellow halo reflecting off each other, illuminating the entire cave in a bizarre and unpredictable way.

Ye Chen didn't withdraw his hand; instead, he increased the output of his True Qi.

"Hum—"

A dull humming sound erupted from inside the Zongzi.

Immediately after.

The layers of talisman paper began to crack from the edges, peeling off rustlingly like dried mud shells.

Old Liu was so scared that he sat down on the ground, covering his head with his hands and curling into a ball.

He was panicked!

He was fucking panicked!

He even regretted bringing this person here.

That was a Zongzi!

An evil Zongzi that killed anyone who encountered it!!!

A few seconds later.

The talisman paper peeled off faster and faster, fragments falling onto the rock face, revealing the white skin covering the surface of the Zongzi.

The skin was covered in fine patterns, like the epidermis of some plant, or perhaps a weathered bone shell that had been buried for too long.

The moment the last talisman paper fell off, a thick, suffocatingly terrifying aura erupted from the Zongzi.

Ye Chen subconsciously leaned back, his True Qi forming a thin barrier in front of him to block the aura.

The white shell began to crack, spreading from the top to the surroundings.

"Crack— Crack—"

The cracks became denser and deeper, like an egg hatching.

The three of them focused their gazes on the Zongzi, and even Old Liu couldn't help but lift his head, watching with a mix of terror and curiosity.

"Crack."

The white shell suddenly cracked open, and a wisp of milky white light flowed out from the fissure.

Immediately after.

A slender hand reached out from the fissure.

"This… This is…"

Old Liu was dumbfounded, his face filled with disbelief.

That hand was clearly a woman's hand!

However.

Before they could see clearly, a strange force swept over.

The next second.

Yan Qingwu and Old Liu felt drowsy, their bodies went soft, and they collapsed to the ground.

That force had hypnotic properties, and both of them fell asleep directly…

Ye Chen's breath hitched. He continued to stare at the person inside the Zongzi, his expression flickering.

What climbed out…

What exactly was it?

Suddenly!

A woman with long cyan hair, her body bare, stepped out from inside the Zongzi.

Ye Chen almost had a nosebleed.

The woman who walked out of the Zongzi, although her face was covered by her long hair, but…

It was huge!

It was perky!

It was shapely!

In terms of figure, she was absolutely top-notch among devils!

But.

When the woman stood before Ye Chen, her hair falling naturally to reveal her true face, Ye Chen was stunned.

Because.

The woman's appearance was not only beautiful, but also…

Exactly the same as Bing Lan.

No way…

Bing Lan???